Generation, some synthetic uses, and 1,2-vinyl rearrangements of secondary and tertiary homoallyllithiums, including ring contractions and A ring expansion. Remarkable acceleration of the rearrangement by an oxyanionic group

A very general preparative method for homoallyllithiums consists of reductive lithiation of homoallyl phenyl sulfides by lithium 4,4'-di-tert-butylbiphenylide. The sulfides can be prepared by a variety of methods including (1) the triethylamine-catalyzed addition of thiophenol to a conjugated enal or enone followed by a Wittig or Peterson olefination, (2) the reaction of a silyl enol ether with a diphenyl dithioacetal catalyzed by stannic chloride, followed by a Peterson olefination, or (3) the treatment of the lithio derivatives of phenyl thioethers or thioacetals or the corresponding cuprates with allyl halides